


Normal life

by Snackleggg



Category: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Benson is enjoying normal-ish human life, Canon? What Canon?, Developing Friendships, FIX THE MOM PROBLEM, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, How Do I Tag, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jamack is decent, Kipo is a little socially awkward now, Mega jaguar Kipo is just a big cat, Minor Original Character(s), Post-Season/Series 02, Season/Series 02 Spoilers, Slightly stressed Kipo, What-If, Wolf can't catch a break, Yumyan and Molly are helpful, kipo being a cat
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:26:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24692992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snackleggg/pseuds/Snackleggg
Summary: After the humans escape into the sewers Emilia finds them and convinces them to go against mutes, this causes a whole mess of new problems but what if one different decision changed all of that.Wolf actually ties Emilia up before they go to save the humans so when she wakes up she cant move. Wolf also destroys the sonic blaster for extra precaution.This tiny difference sets off a whole new chain of events that put the burrowless humans and mutes in the same world for the first time in 200 years.Kipo and the gang are the only tether between these two worlds until they can come to accept each other. Between teaching the humans about the surface, making sure the mutes are okay with them and getting to live a semi normal human life after everything that changed the gang really has their work cut out for them.
Comments: 83
Kudos: 95





	1. The surface

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now a new hurtle has thrown itself at Kipo and the gang. What is going to happen to the burrowless humans?

It didn't take long for Kipo and the others to find their way to the sewer grate the humans had gone down. Song couldn't come because of her massive size so Kipo, Dave, Benson, Wolf, Doliah, Asher, Troy and Lio made their way down there and through the sewers. It didn't take long to find the burrow humans and humans who had been freed from Scarlemange's control all huddled and talking together. It also didn't take long to get their attention as all Kipo had to do was make a large clap with her jaguar arms before turning them back to normal and letting her dad take the lead.

"Alright everyone I know we're all exhausted and everything that's happened these past 2 weeks have changed everything. I know you all want nothing more than to return to the burrow but unfortunately that is not possible. Unless the council has a third burrow at the ready, which I don't think they do, we don't have a burrow to live in anymore" Lio explained and all the humans payed close attention.

"This means that-" "THAT YOU'RE ALL GONNA GET TO LIVE ON THE SURFACE!" Dave cut in and everyone just stared at him like he just grew another head.

"Yes Dave, I was getting to that part" Lio said firmly and Dave shied away a bit "Oh I was just really excited, that's all. Continue" Dave said letting Lio get everyone's attention again.

"Yes, we will have to live in the surface and I know. It's a huge change and it's scary because you've all been taught that the surface is a horrible place. So far you've only had bad experiences with the surface and it's inhabitants but I'm going to tell you this now and don't forget it. Not all mutes are bad. The surface isn't all danger, there's beauty and a possibility to live in a good community. If we all work together we can make it and we have some of the best guides the surface has to offer to help us" Lio said and he turned to Dave, Mandu, Wolf, Benson and Kipo.

"Wait- us?" Benson's hesitant voice came.

"Of course. You and Wolf survived in the surface your whole lives and taught Kipo to do the same. Mandu and Benson can offer a mutes perspective on things and Kipo don't think I didn't notice you made some friends with the inhabitants up there" Lio said with a genuine smile across his face.

"Hey wait!-" Came an infuriating familiar voice from the crowd. Stood at the front was none other than Hoag.

"Wasn't Kipo and her friends the ones that lead that crazy mandril to us! And that giant monkey that destroyed the first burrow is still up there!" Hoag protested and a few others shared his concerns.

Before Lio could say anything Kipo walked past him and stood right infront of Hoag.

"First of all we didn't intentionally lead Scarlemange to the burrow! We were just trying to get home! Second, we saved you all from his mind control and third, that monkey up there was also under his control when she attacked the burrow! But now she is snapped out of it and also helped you escape! Don't for a second try and blame this on her or my friends because if it weren't for all of us then you wouldn't be free from Scarlemange's control!" Kipo explained harshly. Most of her friends had never seen her so mad. 

"She must still be stressed" Muttered Dave and Mandu nodded in agreement.

Hoag was stunned to say the least but he tried to play it off, which was unsuccessful as he stumbled into the crowd.

Lio came up to Kipo and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Alright for now well camp out here but in the morning we will be moving up top. Everyone get comfy" Lio said and the burrow humans happily obliged. They were all mentally and physically exhausted so they didn't have the energy to protest.

Doliah, Troy and Asher broke off from the group to go find their parents. Lio gave his attention to Kipo.

"Kipo, you and your friends will have to go back up and find a suitable place for everyone to stay. It doesn't have to be a permanent one but I don't think it would be a good idea to leave everyone just wandering up on the surface tomorrow, we need some sort of base of operations" Lio explained and Kipo nodded firmly but then Benson and Wolf remembered something.

"Oh wait Lio we have something you should know" Benson and Wolf proceeded to explain how they defeated Emilia and the human resistance and that they should probably go back and put those guys in a proper holding cell.

"Alright, thank you for telling me. After I talk with the council I'll go to the Timbercats and well get them and lock them away properly for everything they did and tried to do" Lio said before going into the crowd of humans to talk to the council.

"Alright! Let's go home hunting guys!" Kipo said enthusiastically and Dave, Mandu, Wolf, Benson, and Kipo all exited the sewers. They were first met with the mega monkey, recently discovered to be Song Oak.

"Oh, mom can you help us find a good place for all the humans to stay? Since you've been living up here so long you should know some places right?" Kipo asked her mother. She made a mental note to find a way to turn her back to normal. Maybe she had an anchor as well? But she didn't really seem lost in the transformation, she still knew who she was and knew who Kipo and Lio were.

Song nodded and lowered one of her hands for them to climb onto.

"We should definitely avoid already taken mute territories. You may be on good terms for saving everyone but the only mutes I can think of that would tolerate being around humans longer than an hour every few days would be the Timbercats and even they were a surprise" Wolf said to Kipo as Song lifted them up high to her shoulder height.

Song pointed to 3 different possible locations. First one was a little farther away but seemed quite safe since it wasn't near any territories apart from the workout raccoons which also meant it was near the dump so that was off the list for the smell already. The second one seemed a tiny bit better. It was a few abandoned hotels on the outskirts of the city but in a more meadow like area than the desert hotel. Dave immediately clinged to Bensons leg in fear when he noticed and then pointed out loudly how close it was to Kipo's birth burrow aka where fun-gus lived. Yeah, they could not have anyone accidentally wandering into fun-gus territory. That was a recipe for disaster so that was off the list.

All that was left was the third one and the closest to where they were. It was probably half a days walk from there but considering how slow an entire burrow plus the humans that had been captured beforehand would move in a group Benson calculated it as turning into a full day journey. The area was a nice little deserted part of Las Vistas. It was alot like the part of the city Kipo had first come into when she first arrived in the surface, that seemed so long ago, only on a slightly smaller scale. There were 2 skyscrapers which had partly collapsed in on themselves at the higher levels. There were tons of apartment buildings and restaurants from what the group could see and a large plaza, perfect for holding meetings in.

"No mutes have taken that bit as territory because of how isolated it is because of the dense forest that's grown around it. I've seen a few hummingbirds look over it and heard of the occasional scooter skunk going in but it's fair game as far as I know" Wolf confirmed and that was all Kipo needed to start jumping up and down like a giddy child.

"Then that's where we're heading! Thanks mom!" Kipo said as Song lowered them back to the ground. Mandu also squealed a thanks.

Song made a noise which was somewhere between being proud and being happy. She stood up and started walking in the direction of the place, probably to make sure it was really no mutes territory.

The group of 5 climbed back down into the sewers. It hadn't taken as long as they had expected. When they came into the area of the sewers where the humans were they could see everyone was already getting comfortable, probably eager for a good night sleep with a few less worries than usual or at least what had become the usual in the last few weeks.

They bumped into Lio on the way towards the humans, he was heading out probably to go to the Timbercats and get a nice cell with Emilia's name on it.

"We found a place! It was easy with mom's help" Kipo said happily to her dad "It's about half a days walk but it will probably take a whole day for everyone to get there. It's no mutes territory, not near any dangerous site and there is a thick forest around it that will not only keep unwanted visitors out but also make sure nobody tries to go adventuring and um..."

"Get themselves killed, it'll make sure no humans get themselves killed. Especially the young dumb ones" Wolf said and made a gesture to some teens around Kipo's age that were hanging out by one of the tunnels that lead to another sewer system.

"Alright, I'll be heading out now. I've talked to the council and they agree that they will consult you for any important decisions since you all know the surface better than anyone" Lio said. He briefly hugged Kipo before going up the ladder and outside.

The 5 walked up a little closer to the crowd but made sure not to actually go in since they knew some of the humans were still a little weary of them. Dave immediately collapsed onto the ground.

"Well, I am tired. I'm going to go to sleep right here and right now. Don't wake me up until it's time to leave. Kipo, you're a great friend but holy jesus do you have a tendency to drag people into situations" Dave said from where he layed on the floor and Kipo rubbed the back of her head nervously.

After that Dave fell asleep and Mandu curled up next to him and did the same. Benson also decided to take a nap. Wolf was staring at the way they came in from. She said she would keep a look out for any mutes trying any funny business.

That left Kipo with nothing to do so she entered the crowd to find Doliah and Asher and make sure they were okay and united with their parents.

"Kipo!" She heard the two unmistakable voices.

"Doliah! Asher!" Kipo yelled as she met her two friends again.

"Did you two find your parents alright? Everything's fine now right? Oh I didn't check earlier if you were hurt!" Kipo started freting over her friends.

"We're fine! We found our parents, they're fine to" Doliah said with a goofy grin.

"Okay now that everything's cooled down a little you HAVE to tell us everything!" Asher punctuated loudly.

The 3 walked out of the crowd into the quieter side of the sewer but not too far.

"Okay, um where do I start? What do you want to know?" Kipo asked and she immediately regretted it from the excited glint in their eyes.

"EVERYTHING!" Both said in unison.

"We haven't seen you in a week and then you just show up out of nowhere standing next to the crazy mandril" Asher said.

"And then you turn into this huge pink- jaguar thing- like what was that about? You looked like the ones in the books we read at school but then out of nowhere when we all think we're gonna die-" Asher continued but was cut off by Doliah at the end "YOU BECAME EVEN BIGGER AND GREW AN EXTRA PAIR OF LIMBS AND THREE TAILS!" Doliah yelled in Kipo's face, it was mostly just a way of her expressing her shock.

"Oh... yeah. So I don't know how I could explain this so you're just going to have to stay with me on this. So like I said at the burrow I'm part mute but I found out the whole story! To summarise my parents came up with this crazy idea for a way for humans to live on the surface and they fused my DNA with a jaguars before I was born, because of that I can turn into a huge mega jaguar and also have some abilities I can do without going full on mega" Kipo explained. Doliah and Ashet seemed to be following.

"Wow Kipo I knew you and your dad were kind different from everyone else in the burrow but your dad being smart enough to genetically engineer you to be somehow even more awesome than you were before-" Doliah said with hand gestures to enfisies.

"Yeah your family is awesome. Terrifying in the things you can do but awesome" Asher said a little more clearly.

"Ooooohh you guys!" Kipo was moved to tears that her friends were so accepting and even out right calling it awesome. She loved her jaguar powers but the strange looks she got from mutes and the whole ordeal with Wolf that happened made her doubt herself occasionally but of course her two friends would know how to cheer her up without even realising it. Kipo hugged them tight.

"Oh right! I should show you my powers since they are probably gonna become a normal thing!" Kipo said after releasing the hug. Somehow Doliah and Asher seemed to get even more excited.

"Okay so, herbs in" Kipo said and did the motion of her arms. Immediately the fur which she had come to accept as her own sprouted and her arms were those of jaguars. Doliah and Asher stared in stunned silence before they exploded.

"OH MY GOD THAT IS SO COOOOOOOL!" They both said at the same time.

Doliah immediately started petting her fur.

"Its soooooooo soft" She said and Kipo would take it to her grave how she started to feel a small rumble of a purr in the back of her throat from having her fur pet. She managed to fight the purr away and threw that at the farthest corner of the back of her mind.

"You know I always thought you just had some skin condition you were born with but it makes sense you're purple and pink when you have purple and pink fur" Asher said as she examined but didn't touch her other arm.

"Oh there's more than just the arms and the mega transformation. I can grow a tail for balance, I can change my eyes to jaguar eyes for seeing better or in the dark, I can make my ears jaguar ears for better hearing, I can also make my legs jaguar legs to run faster and my nose into a jaguar nose to smell things better. Once I found Dave and Mandu in a game of hide and seek just by smelling them out" Kipo explained and her two friends eyes lit up even more.

"Tell us all of your adventures!" They both said in unison and Kipo happily obliged. She happily recounted the adventures her and her friends had, before the second burrow was destroyed and after. This time she recounted them in more detail than whether they almost died or not but she did leave out some embarrassing bits that she would take to her grave.

Eventually the conversation became less intense and cooled down. Doliah and Asher spoke of their time with the Timbercats and how the Timbercats talked about Kipo almost as highly as their leader. Nightfall came sooner than they realised even if they were underground and couldn't see the sky. The whole time some small fires the humans had built were lighting the sewers but now every started falling asleep and so the fire died out but Kipo couldn't fall asleep.

She stared up at the ceiling from where she was laying down on her back next to Wolf. She could see perfectly fine even if she knew it was pitch black so she knew her jaguar eyes had come out instinctually.

Kipo knew that this would only be for that night but she already missed staring up at the stars and testing herself on her astronomy to lull herself to sleep. She had grown used to it and never realised how grey and dull the walls of the underground were. Now she did and she couldn't stand just staring at the old concrete ceiling any longer. Kipo carefully got up to not wake any of her friends or her dad who was also sleeping near by after he came back.

She snuck off to the ladder. Maybe just making her self sleepy by testing her astronomy facts and then sneaking back in to sleep would be fine? It's not like anyone would know. Kipo knew she was probably just lying to herself but she didn't care. She loved the stars and needed to see them.

"Herbs in" Kipo whispered and she used her claws to climb up one of the taller trees. She stopped on a branch near the top and just sat there admiring the beautiful night sky. The moon was full and high in the sky casting it's glow over everything around her. The stars were as bright as ever and the night was in perfect silence. There was a slight cold breeze but Kipo didn't feel it thanks to her fur. At some point she had grown her tail so she wouldn't lose balanced and fall from the tree but she didn't remembered when.

From where she sat she could see alot, not everything like she could when her mom lifted her up but definitely alot. She could see trash canyon and the vague forms of the mega dogs sleeping in the grassy lands beyond that. She could see the old observatory which was distinctly missing it's telescope, she doesn't regret destroying it if it kept her friends and her people safe. She could see the burrow she had spent most of her life in or at least the destroyed crater where it once was hidden underground. She could see skyscraper ridge and the canopy of the Timbercats and the desert which held a small town in it which was definitely her bandmates home. Looking at all these places she had traveled to, seeing how vastly they were spread out made Kipo realise just how sheltered and confide she had been. She looked past everything she already knew of Las Vistas and to the mountains far far away. There were more land she hadn't been to. The world was so big and seemingly infinite even if she had seen maps of it in her books. This was only a small slice but she was truly content with it.

Kipo really couldn't imagine what her life would have been like if she hadn't been thrown into the world of the surface by those rushing waters that day. She would probably be in the second burrow, it still intact. Going to school and hanging out with Doliah and Asher without a clue of the friendship she missed from Wolf and Benson and all the mutes. She would eat moss lasagna with her dad and she would help him make a new star map in the ceiling of their new home. Now they didn't need a star map since the stars were right there. Now they had mom back, even if she was a mega monkey.

Kipo frowned a little. She needed to figure out how to turn her mom back.

Unfortunately Kipo's moment of self reflection and being free to admire the world without any responsibilities was cut short by the sounds of a few people yelling, screaming. It was coming from near by! Kipo jumped down from the tree and landed gracefully on her feet, she didn't have time to ponder how that long fall didn't break her legs as she started running to the source of the scream. Her legs grew her signature fur as she started running faster.

It was the middle of the night so maybe a mute being hunted by the newton wolves? No, this was far from their territory. Maybe it was a human? The thought made Kipo's blood run cold as she thought of how someone from the burrow may have gotten a similar idea to her but since they had no experience may have ran into a mute or gotten hurt by the unexpectedly rough terrain.

She made it to the source quickly, the adrenaline was already pumping but she did her breathing mantra that Wolf taught her so she could asses the situation without her racing heart to make her jumpy. She needed to be calm and have control. There in a small clearing were 3 humans, they were teenagers from her burrow. She had never talked to them before but she remembers them from passings on the school corridors and such, though she can't remember their names.

They were all staring terrified at the huge spider that was hissing violently at them. Behind the spider was an old rusted car that was completely covered in webs. Kipo immediately jumped between them. She flashed her claws so the spider, which was as big as the car behind them, knew she meant business. Surprisingly the spider didn't approach or try to attack, instead it stayed hissing at them and seemed defensively trying to protect..... the car?

Kipo dared to lean to the side to peer at the car. Inside she just noticed the small form of a smaller spider, no, a younger spider. Kipo immediately put her claws down.

"Hey, hey, don't worry I'm not going to hurt you" Kipo said quietly.

"You not going to hurt IT!?" One of the teenagers behind her exclaimed but she payed them no mind. Kipo noticed the foot prints in the grass and made a clear picture of the actual situation.

"Herbs out" Her hands turned back to normal and her tail retracted though she kept her jaguar eyes for necessity to see.

"See? I'm no threat" She said as she waved her hands up. The spiders hissing became less intense but it was still there.

"You're just a momma protecting your baby aren't you? And these teenagers came out of nowhere and scared you. Don't worry, no one will hurt you or your baby" Kipo assured and she dared to take a step forward. For a moment the spiders hissing intensified again but Kipo crouched down a little to show she wasn't a threat and the hissing calmed down again.

She inched her way closer until she was right infront of the spider and gently she moved her hand down towards it. Half the spiders eyes were glued to her and the other half to her hand. She reached down and started scratching it under it's chin.

The spider immediately relaxed under the touch and even leaned into the scratching a bit, the hissing had stopped.

"Heh, you remind me of my friend Pierre. I bet you two would get along" Kipo said and she could feel the confused stares from behind her but she didn't care.

The spider carefully nudged it's way closer to Kipo and gently placed it's head between her hands as she pet it.

"Ooooh, your really nice and cute when you stop hissing at everyone" Kipo said and finally she stopped petting the spider and turned around to face the teenagers. The spider stood just over her shoulder throwing them a warning glare with all of it's eyes.

"Okay so care to explain what you guys were doing outside, at night, without a guide" Kipo said, punctuating each part of the sentence. There was no venom in her voice but there was a bit of disappointment.

"Oh, we were just exploring, I mean we have the whole surface at our fingertips how can we not?" A girl a little taller than Kipo said with a nervous chuckle. She had dark brown hair and brown eyes to match.

"Okay, okay, wait- are we just ignoring the fact that you just went up and pet a giant spider and now.... are friends with it? Also what's up with your eyes?" The tallest of the three, a boy with black hair and blue eyes, said while pointing at her.

Kipo simply crossed her arms "Welcome to the surface where nothing is ever as it seems at first glance. I can see by the footprints that you approached the car, where her baby is. She was just scared you would hurt it that's all but I calmed her down. Also the eyes thing is because I'm part mute. Oh! I'm Kipo by the way! Never got to formally introduce myself" Kipo explained. She gave the spider one last pat on the head before starting to walk back towards the edge of the clearing in the direction of the sewer entrance.

"Come on, we need to get you three home" was all she said and after a brief stunned silence the three followed her.

"Wait- what do you mean you're part mute? Also Kipo was it? You were that crazy girl that came to the second burrow with those surface people and who talked to that giant monkey?" The black haired boy went on. His friends seemed just as shocked.

"I mean I'm part mute, nothing more nothing less and yes I am that Kipo. You guys should rest since tomorrow we have a long journey to our new home and also please don't ever wander off without a guide again. That giant spider was one of the more normal things up here on the surface, god forbid if you ran into a deathstalker" Kipo explained without looking back. She tried to keep her voice light and friendly but the sleepiness was starting to catch up to her and it became increasingly harder to multi task her thinking.

"What's a deathstalker?" The girl asked this time.

"Giant scorpion with three stingers. I fought some once, you do not want to mess with them" Kipo said and she just realised she was sounding like a less grumpy Wolf.

"Oh okaaaaayyy, thanks for the warning" the girl said, clearly unnerved by the description. They finally arrived at the sewer grate and Kipo let the rebellious teens go in first before she went in last.

"Hey um, thanks for saving our dumb asses up there" The black haired boy said as they walked down the sewer tunnel. 

"It's okay, if I know the surface me and my friends will probably have to do it more than once in the future so just get used to it as normal, at least until you know enough about the surface to live up there properly" Kipo said with a reassuring smile. They finally made it back to where all the other humans were and went their separate ways.

Kipo layed down next to Wolf's still sleeping form and was finally able to sleep.

'I made one new mute friend and three new acquaintances, score' was the last thought she had before drifting off into the land of dreams.


	2. Surprisingly dangerous journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The burrowless humans make the journey towards their new home

Kipo found herself awoken by Wolf starting to pull her along the ground. Ever since Wolf found out Kipo was a stubborn sleeper she would wake Kipo by just starting to drag her across the ground. It was strange but it had quickly become routine.

She immediately moved and tapped Wolf's hand that was dragging her to let her know she was awake. Wolf let go in an instant and Kipo jumped up and patted any dirt and dust off her before stretching.

"Good morning! Is everyone else awake yet?" Kipo asked as she rubbed her eyes a bit and looked at Wolf infront of her. It was strange to see Wolf without stalky. She had learned of stalky's fate and was pretty sad because Wolf seemed very attached to the venomous weapon. Maybe she could get her a new one as a gift? Kipo shook her head, she needed to focuse on the present and not get side tracked.

"Yeah, most of the other humans are awake. I was planning to wake Dave up with stalky but.... well you know" Wolf made a general gesture and Kipo wondered if she had become cheese psychic to guess that the topic would come up.

"Well, we will just have to wake him the old fashioned way" Benson said from behind Wolf and Mandu quickly moved away from where she sat next to the sleeping Dave. Benson stretched momentarily before proceeding to jump onto Dave's sleeping form, the only sign he woke up was the grunt he let out as Benson basically crushed him with his superior weight. They knew his exoskeleton would hold anyway and if it didn't..... well it was Dave, he could survive being blown up by a full nectar bomb.

"Morning Dave!" Kipo said after a second of silence.

"Mornin Kipo" Came Dave's muffled reply.

Benson soon got off of his best friend and Dave thanked every bug god he could remember for his exoskeleton not being damaged, which meant he just thanked himself.

"Alright, everyone should be ready to go" Lio said as he approached the gang.

"Okay then we should head out. It'll be a long and if I know the surface, which I do, dangerous journey" Wolf said with grave seriousness that was immediately destroyed when Kipo put her arm around her.

"Come on Wolf! Think of it as a fun road trip with all my people! I know you don't trust or know any of them yet but you know I think strangers are just friends you haven't met yet!" Kipo said with a determined smile.

"Yeah, no" Wolf said as she carefully sneaked her way out of Kipo's grasp.

"Alright, we're all ready" Benson said to Lio and Lio nodded.

"Okay everyone! Well be heading out towards our new home on the surface now! Everyone follow Kipo and her friends and please stay together in a group, no one break off or it could be dangerous!" Lio said to the burrow humans. There were a few murmurs from the crowd but everyone agreed and they started.

It didn't take long for everyone to leave the sewers. They started travelling through the forest of tall trees.

"Oh yeah, we should go this way so not to scare the momma spider" Kipo said suddenly without really thinking about it.

"Wait, what? When did you find a mom spider?" Wolf asked from next to her and Kipo whinced at her own stupidity. She hadn't told anyone about the encounter last night and wasn't planning to either but now she had to.

"Okay so last night I um.... noticed some teens sneaking out and went to go get them. They found a giant spider that was easily disturbed because she had a baby. I made friends with her and lead the teens back so everything's good! She probably will get defensive if a bunch of humans suddenly pass through her clearing out of nowhere" Kipo said, bending the truth wasn't exactly lying, right? It was mostly true and it's not like the teens could prove she had been out there before them. Kipo just really didn't want Wolf to know she had gone out on her own without much reason or else Wolf would start fretting over her, even if she denied it.

Wolf nodded "Yeah, it would be safer to avoid confrontation" She agreed and they moved their course slightly to avoid the clearing.

The next 2 hours were pretty uneventful. They just walked and occasionally stopped so Kipo could climb a tree and check they were going in the right direction. The burrow humans were keeping up well and no one had wondered off yet. There was banter here and there, telling stories of their adventures, and eventually they just settled into a comfortable silence as they walked. Then everything went to hell.

The ground started shaking lightly and a rythamatic THUMP sound could be heard.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

"Hey that kinda sounds like a mute quake!" One of the burrow humans pointed out.

"Uuuhhh, yeah. That's a mute quake alright. But on the surface... where the mutes ARE" Kipo called back as she saw a shadow block out the sun. She wasn't looking where she was going, too focused on the large silhouette looming over them, and neither was the person who ran into her.

"Ow! Hey- wha- Jamack?" Kipo was startled to see the frog again, last she saw he had landed a job with the theaotters. 

"Kipo!? What are you doing here- ugh doesn't matter! The point is we need to get out of here because-" Jamack was cut off by another large THUMP.

"Kipo we have to get everyone out of here! We're in the direct path of a mega horse!" Wolf yelled and just then Kipo was able to get a good look at said mega. It was a giant brown horse, a little smaller than the mega dogs but roughly the same size. It had an extra pair of eyes, legs, and a second tail. It didn't even seem to notice the humans were there, how could it? They were probably like ants to the horse.

"It'll probably just walked right passed us, doesn't even seem to notice us" Kipo stated. She could hear the gasps of the people behind her and her dad trying to calm them all down.

"No Kipo! It's a mega horse! They are EXTREMELY skittish and the tiniest thing they spot that's out of place can send them on a rampage! If that mute spots us them we are as good as dead" Wolf said in a yell whisper.

"Exactly! That's why we should go, now!" Jamack urged.

"But we can't just run for the hills, that'll definitely get noticed with a group as big as this" Benson supplied and Wolf face palmed because he was right.

"Alright, how about we just stay really still until it passes?" Kipo suggested. Pretty much everyone agreed except for Jamack but he didn't protest either.

Kipo told Lio of the situation and he tried his best to inform the humans without making too much noise. Once they were all on the same page the burrow humans seemed to freeze like deers in headlights. Not a word was ushered and no one even moved from where they stood.

Everything seemed to be going well until one kid saw a flower and decided it was the most important thing in the world. The child broken from the group to go pick the floor. Wolf resisted the huge urge to face palm, Benson and Dave exchanged uncertain glances and Mandu shifted closer to Jamack. Lio was trying to quietly call out to the child but they were too far away, enraptured by the pretty flower. Kipo knew it was up to her. A quick mumble of herbs in and she had the silent feet of a jaguar and tail for balance because she was a huge kluz and didn't trust herself not to fall face first.

She slowly started making her way to the child. It almost looked like a predator stalking prey with how silently and gracefully she moved on her paws. That was probably because 200 years ago that's exactly what these features were used for in regular jaguars. Kipo's mind briefly caught on that thought but she pushed it away easily.

She crouched down next to the child as they looked up at her and showed her the pretty flowers they picked.

"That's very pretty, how about we go back to everyone and you can show your parents? Let's also play a game. The game is about who can be the quietest" Kipo whispered to the child and they nodded with determination. Kipo and the child slowly and quietly made their way back towards the group. The mega horse was almost passed them now but Kipo knew they should still be quiet as it was still in ear shot and mutes had much more acute hearing than humans.

The child safely got back to their parents and Kipo quietly made her way back to the front with her friends. Only a minute and the mega horse would have passed out of ear shot but unfortunately the burrow humans still didn't know about the enhanced senses of a mute and one young adult towards the back of the group who thought it had gotten far enough let out a large sigh "I think it's out of ear shot!" He yelled and everyone who knew better all cringed at once. Wolf by reflex tried to reach for stalky, which of course resulted in her freaking out just the tiniest bit more remembering that she didn't have her venomous weapon.

Kipo saw the mega horses ears twitch and it's head noticable shot up. It looked around, it's tails moved quickly and it's 4 eyes scanned the area until it landed on the group of humans.

"RUN!" Wolf yelled and everyone complied. Immediately the mega horse started freaking out. It stomped and the ground shook wildly. Trees that were too close to the horse were toppled over. Most of the humans screamed while they ran which didn't help the mega horse's panic.

Kipo found herself at the back of the group making sure no one got left behind, helping people who tripped up, giving some who were still stunned an extra push, making sure the elderly kept up etc.

It was utter chaos and Kipo wasn't even sure they were still going in the right direction. She looked back to where she saw the mega horse still freaking out, she knew it would probably continue to freak out if it still saw the movement and noise coming from the large group of humans. In a split second decision Kipo turned around entirely and started sprinting TOWARDS the mega horse.

'This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea. This is a bad idea' kept on repeating in her head but she continued forward. The ground shaking got more and more intense the closer she got but it was nothing compared to the loud beating of her heart. At this point the mega horse had made a huge clearing of toppled over trees around it. Kipo didn't even realise she had grown her jaguar arms in as well until she jumped and grabbed onto the mega horse's fur with said arms. She had deeply underestimated how far she could jump with her jaguar legs and found herself already almost to her destination.

She got to the ears surprisingly quickly even though the mute was still thrashing wildly. The mega horse needed to calm down and this was the only way she knew how to calm it down. Kipo sang a song to it. It wasn't anything relatively special, just a generic calming song that parents would usually sing to upset children. She wished greatly that she had a guitar to help her but it seemed to be working as the mega horse slowly started to calm down in it's thrashing. She had finished singing the song a second time when the mega horse finally calmed down.

It sat in the newly made clearing with a huge THUMP as it was probably exhausted by all the thrashing. Kipo pet it gently just behind it's ears.

"See? Everything's alright, you don't need to panic anymore" She said in a gentle voice.

The mega horse calmed down completely and layed it's head on the ground, probably to take a nap.

Kipo jumped off of it and gave it one last pat before heading back in the direction she came but not too quickly so as to not alarm the mega horse.

It didn't take Kipo long to find the group again and Wolf, Benson, Dave, Mandu, and her dad immediately ran up to her.

"Where did you go? What were you thinking? You could have gotten crushed!" Wolf whisper shouted in fear of alerting the mega horse again.

"I just went and calmed it down. Really you should all be thanking me" Kipo said proudly, she was happy that her fast thinking actually worked.

"Kipo I am very proud but please never do that again, I nearly had a heart attack when you ran off" Lio said and Kipo looked down a little guilty for worrying her friends.

"Yeah, sorry. Herbs out" She said and her arms and feet swiftly turned back to normal.

"You'll probably need to bring those out again, we need you to climb a tree and make sure we are still going in the right direction" Benson helpfully pointed out but Dave cut "Nah, I got it!" Dave said in his buff form which he had transformed into at some point during the chaos. Then of course in classic Dave fashion he immediately multed into his old man form before he even got the chance to open his wings.

"Well, I guess I'm doing it. Herbs in!" Kipo said and quickly climbed up a tree with her jaguar arms before she slid back down.

"Okay, we're a little off course but not by much so we just need to get back on track. Herbs out" Kipo said and they moved back to the front of the group of humans who had calmed down now and were mostly just catching their breaths.

After all the humans caught their breaths they continued on their way towards the sight. Jamack who had been initially running from the mega deer decided to stick with the group. He said it had 100% no reason to do with Kipo's tendency to put herself in dangerous situations but Wolf, Mandu, Dave, and Benson knew better. He stuck to the front of the group since some humans were unnerved by the talking frog in a suit.

Finally after a few more hours of travel, and some breaks where people had to go to the bathroom or take a rest, they finally made it to the sight which would hopefully be suitable to be their new home. The first thing they were greeted by was Song who was sitting cross legged against on of the medium sized buildings that faced the direction they had came from. She gave a wave and a smile to the large group and Lio and Kipo reciprocated it but the other humans were more.... hesitant.

"Ah! It's that monster again!" Especially the over dramatic Hoag but Wolf quickly kicked him in the kneecaps for the comment and gave a death glare to anyone who seemed to agree with Hoag.

"Okay! This place should be big enough to house everyone! The forest makes it hard for hostile mutes to get here which also means it's probably not been looted! So there's probably still a bunch of supplies and food! Theres a town centre area where we can have meetings and stuff and um... Wolf can you go over some of the basic rules with everyone?" Kipo said as she turned to her best friend and adopted sister.

"Right! Listen up because I'm only saying this once! First things first, if you spot ANY mute that isn't one of these three" Wolf said as she gestured to Jamack, Dave and Mandu "Then get away from them and come tell one of us immediately! Second of all if any structures look unstable then do not enter them, obviously! Third of all stay in groups! No one goes around alone, I want at least 3 people in each group! Last but not least do NOT leave into the forest or try doing something stupid like eating a random plant! You all go to the town centre at sunset so we can do a count and plan what we do next!" Wolf explained "Is that clear?!" Wolf yelled and everyone nodded. One would say she sounded like an army general, if they knew what that was.

"Alright everyone can go exploring but remember the rules Wolf layed down! If you want to play it safe then just stay camped out in the town centre! If you have any questions you can ask one of us! Except for Dave!" Kipo said with her bright smile that deeply contrasted Wolf's frown.

The humans listened. Most seemed to head to the town centre to camp out, some decided to explore the near by buildings and others just stood around and talked.

"Sooooo Jamack" Kipo said as she turned to the frog "Do you want to stay? Also why were you even out in this forest and not with the theaotters?" Kipo asked.

"Well I WAS with the theaotters but they ran the moment they saw the mega deer" Jamack said while trying to straighten his cut tie and Kipo made a mental note to get him a new one.

"Like you did?" Wolf deadpanned with a raised eyebrow.

"Well- I um... yes, but I ran in the opposite direction so they are probably long gone" Jamack said with a general hand gesture "I might as well stay around here since I got nothing better to do, just keep him away from me" Jamack said as he gestured to the teenage Dave who was agreeing.

"With all those issues sorted out we should really start making sure the area is properly secure" Lio said and Kipo nodded determinedly.

"Mom, what do you think? You've had a look around, is the place safe?" Kipo asked and Song nodded with a sound of confirmation.

"Okay, we better get to the town centre since sunset isn't long from now" Lio said. Benson, Dave, and Jamack immediately started following him towards the centre but Wolf noticed Kipo and Mandu weren't following and stopped.

"You coming?" Wolf asked.

"Uh, yeah but me and Mandu actually wanted to check some places out first" Kipo said while holding her arm, a nervous habit she developed after her fur started sprouting.

"Alright, dont get yourself killed" Wolf said after a moment of eyeing them suspiciously. She turned back around and continued to follow the others.

Song gave Kipo a slightly worried glance.

"Don't worry mom! Me and Mandu well be fine! We've dealt with worst than an abandoned town!" Kipo tried to reassure but that only seemed to make Song more worried. Song still let them go easily but she kept her eye on them as long as she could see them before they disappeared between the buildings.

Kipo and Mandu walked in silence for a bit. They came across a slightly collapsed in building and they climbed up the rubble of the collapse onto the remaining intact roof.

Kipo sat down on the edge and let her legs hang over it. Mandu sat down next to her. They looked out over the abandoned town that was casted in warm yellows and oranges from the soon to be setting sun. If Kipo squinted she could see the first and brightest of the stars starting to appear in the sky. The scattered clouds above them were fluffy and had the side facing the sun in a warm yellow colour while the other side was a cool light blue colour.

There was a slight breeze which Kipo could feel this time but she didn't mind as she sat in the last warm rays of the sun. They could see the few scattered humans in the streets starting to wander towards the town centre. The forest that surrounded the town was thick with tall green oaks and pines, and the calm swishing of the leaves could be heard.

Kipo let out a sigh before starting to pet Mandu.

"You know Mandu when we got to the second burrow I was kind of maybe a little sad. Sad I'd never get to see the stars or the sunset or sunrise. Never get to see all these beautiful colours again. I know it's stupid and selfish, especially considering how much I hyped the burrow up and even though I wouldn't trade being with my dad and people for the world I still couldn't help but feel a little disappointed... disappointed they would never get to see what I saw. But now they do! Granted the way this all happened isn't the best but now they get to look up at the stars every night and see all these beautiful colours and sights!" Kipo said and Mandu listened patiently.

"And now they are going to need all the help I can give to be able to adjust to the surface. It'll be hard at first but with hard work comes great reward! You'll see, soon enough well have all my people living up here as if they've been here their whole lives!" Kipo said with determination as she stood up. She cast one last look at the beautiful scenery before heading back down the rubble with Mandu.

The two soon made it to the town centre, a big open area with a mossed over brick ground. It was different from the roads, instead of smooth and cracked it was bumpy bricks that were still mostly intact. It was obvious this wasnt a place built for cars to ride on but it was perfect for walking. There was a big fancy fountain in the middle which unsurprisingly didnt work and that was also where Kipo spotted her dad and her friends.

"Hey! We're back! Is everyone here yet?" Kipo asked as she looked around the open space. She could see most of the burrow humans had already gathered.

"Mostly everyone seems here but people are still coming in so well wait a little longer before we start talking" Benson said with a now adult Dave nodding along.

"I managed to looked through most of the town since I broke off from the group after we came here. Here, I've drawn a map" Wolf said while handing Kipo said map.

"Wait, how did you look through the town that quickly? Didn't you guys only get here like 20 minutes ago?" Kipo asked astonished.

"I'm fast" was all Wolf replied with. Benson walked closer to Kipo "Yeah, did you know she could jump over a whole truck?" He said to her and Kipo just shrugged, it sounded like a thing Wolf would be able to do.

Kipo looked at the map Wolf made and it was pretty decently drawn for how quickly it must have been done. The town was pretty conveniently divided into little districts. There was a food and restaurants district to the east, an apartments and houses district to the west, a clothing and shopping district to the north, and the area to the south was only marked miscellaneous which meant a whole variety of places she could go and explore later to get a more detailed map. Kipo handed the map to her dad to take a look.

"Yep, this seems pretty sufficient for everyone, good job in finding this place you guys" Lio said and the group shun proudly at the praise. At this point the sun was completely setting and it seemed all the humans were at the centre.

"Alright everyone! This town should be a fine place for us to set up camp in" Lio said before he started explaining all the districts and where everything was. By the time he finished the sun had finished setting and the last bits of orange was starting to fade from the sky. They all agreed that for tonight they camp out here in the town centre before getting settled in tomorrow.

Kipo was over the moon to be sleeping under the starry sky again and her dad started quizzing her on astronomy facts after they had layed down preparing for sleep. It didn't take long for Kipo to get lulled into sleep and she dreamed all night of a perfect world where her and her friends lived peacefully on the surface with mutes and humans alike. A dream which she was determined to make reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You think the sleep deprived tag is a joke but it's not because both the chapters so far have been written at 3 to 4 am in the morning


End file.
